Is Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) a good investment right now? We check hedge fund and billionaire investor sentiment before delving into hours of research. Hedge funds spend millions of dollars on Ivy League graduates, expert networks, and get tips from industry insiders. They fail miserably sometimes but historically their consensus stock picks outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk factors.
Hedge fund interest in Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Concordia Healthcare Corp (NASDAQ:CXRX), Fidelity & Guaranty Life (NYSE:FGL), and Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALDR) to gather more data points.
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Keeping this in mind, let’s review the latest action regarding Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB).
How have hedgies been trading Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management has the largest position in Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB), worth close to $39.6 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Tamarack Capital Management, managed by Justin John Ferayorni, which holds a $39.5 million position; 4.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish contain Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.
Interestingly, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management cut the biggest position of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising about $8.9 million in stock. Chao Ku’s fund, Nine Chapters Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Concordia Healthcare Corp (NASDAQ:CXRX), Fidelity & Guaranty Life (NYSE:FGL), Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALDR), and AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to GB’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| CXRX | 17 | 227015 | 4 |
| FGL | 11 | 62732 | -3 |
| ALDR | 23 | 241585 | 5 |
| AHS | 23 | 126725 | -2 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $165 million. That figure was $136 million in GB’s case. Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALDR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Fidelity & Guaranty Life (NYSE:FGL) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard ALDR might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
